ABCs of startups with Kalsoom Lakhani
Kalsoom Lakhani is the Founder/CEO of Invest2Innovate, or i2i, which supports startups and the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem in developing markets, beginning in Pakistan. She is a Global Ambassador for Sandbox, a global network of innovators under 30, and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers. She has trained young entrepreneurs and change-makers in tech forums in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Kiev, Ukraine and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The George Washington University graduate shares with Shahriar Rahman from The Daily Star about how someone should get started with their very first startup.
If someone has a startup, what are the things they need to address first?
Whether you are currently running a company or aspire to run one someday, the number one thing to think about is not what you are doing, rather how you are doing it. First, you need to answer why you want to do it, and then, how you plan to do it. After that, you can come to the question of what you are doing. Most people talk about what they do, i.e. I run a services company or I run a digital media company. The reason why people buy what you create or invest in you or join your team is because of why you do what you do. The reason why I started my company is because I get to meet interesting people every day, people who have great ideas but need the resources to implement or scale their businesses. And we have so many wonderful partners and investors. They sign on because they believe what you believe. We focus more on why because it helps you grow your company, especially when it gets really difficult – and trust me, it gets really difficult.
Secondly, get to know who is in the field with you, who else is doing what you are doing – investors often ask these questions. It's good to have a vision, but the next step is to figure out how you are going to do something radically different that people are going to buy.
What is the best approach to start the operation of a startup?
I would recommend the 'Lean Startup Methodology'. It ultimate says: Build, Measure, Learn and Repeat. You don't need to spend a lot amount of money in order to figure out if people like your product or not. It's all about what your customers like and don't like. The only way to figure that out is the smallest, most efficient iteration of your products. After building the model you measure the feedbacks. You learn from what you did and repeat the cycle by tweaking the necessary parameters. Whenever you hit a roadblock, make sure you get back to the drawing board, do the necessary improvements and repeat the cycle.
How important is the target group of a particular startup?
A lot people will spend a lot of time and money to build something really big that no one wants to buy. So if no one buys what you are selling then there is no actual value behind what you are creating. So what you should really care about is what the customer thinks.
[Photo credit: Checkmate Wedding Solutions]
Comments